Chapter By Chapter: Fantastic Voyage novelization ch. 16

Chapter by Chapter features me reading one chapter of the selected book at the time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.

We’re coming into the final stretch of this book, and now I have to be careful reading it because the physical book is showing its age. I don’t want it falling apart before I’m done reading it. Three chapters left and our microscopic surgical team have finally made it to the brain. Can the laser be repaired in time? Are any more obstacles ahead for our heroes? Let’s dive in and see what happens next.

Chapter 16: Brain

And my Trekkie side insists I post this:

I’m sorry. Some scenes just ruin words for people.

At this point nobody cares what’s going on outside Benes so unless Asimov is trying to build the tension I’m not sure why we keep cutting back to Carter and Reed beyond the first scene in the chapter. And Grant is STILL flirting with Peterson. I’m not sure if he’s trying to develop a “he’s in love with her but she’s in love with him” love triangle but there was no romantic stuff in the movie and there didn’t need to be. Yes there was talk about her feelings for Duval but it passed and wasn’t important to the story. She can still defend him and just be a devoted fan and assistant, and she doesn’t need to be Grant’s love interest either. I’m not against romantic subplots mind you, but it just feels forced into this story, which may be why the movie didn’t go that route.

What’s Peterson defending Duval from? Michaels, who is now just coming out and calling Duval a traitor, insisting that he’s lying about the laser working to destroy the clot. It flies in the face of everything we’ve seen and at this point it’s almost comical how paranoid Michaels is coming off as. There is good reason mind you since I’ve seen the movie but it’s kind of silly to watch and I can imagine, had I not seen the source first, I’d wonder what was wrong with the man. I’m not complaining, mind you. It is good character interaction. I’m not pointing this out from a critic’s perspective but just someone reading the story. This is part of the “read along book club” aspect of my intro.

Meanwhile they’ve arrived at the blood clot, with mere minutes left to go. Can they save Benes in time to escape before he dies from a giant submarine exploding his head anyway? We have two more chapters, and thus two more weeks to get our answer.